U.S. International Development Finance Corp

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) serves as America's development bank, focusing on financing solutions to pressing challenges in the developing world. DFC collaborates with the private sector to invest in projects that foster job creation in emerging markets across various sectors, including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, telecommunications, and support for small businesses and women entrepreneurs. The corporation is committed to adhering to high standards that prioritize environmental sustainability, human rights, and worker rights in all its investments.

Maryam Khosharay

Vice President

Past deals in East Africa

Ilara Health

Debt Financing in 2025
Ilara Health develops and distributes AI-powered diagnostic devices for primary care doctors serving rural and peri-urban communities in Africa, with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The compact devices connect to a proprietary software platform and electronic medical records, recording patient data to support accurate, affordable diagnostics at the point of care. The company aims to expand access to essential diagnostics by targeting the highly fragmented primary care infrastructure and delivering devices directly to clinicians, enabling clinicians to deliver timely, data-backed diagnostic services.

Syrah Resources

Post in 2025
Syrah Resources Limited is an Australian resource company focused on the exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral properties, primarily in Mozambique. The company's flagship project is the Balama graphite and vanadium project, located in the Cabo Delgado province. Through its Balama segment, Syrah Resources produces and sells natural flake graphite, which is distributed globally to various markets, including Europe, China, India, and the Americas. In addition to flake graphite, the company has developed a downstream strategy to produce natural spherical graphite, utilized in anodes for lithium-ion batteries and recarburiser products for steelmaking and other industrial applications. Founded in 2007, Syrah Resources is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

BasiGo

Debt Financing in 2024
BasiGo is an e-mobility company focused on electrifying public transportation in Kenya and Rwanda. It provides electric buses to bus operators through a flexible financing and service model that includes maintenance and battery charging, helping operators transition from diesel with predictable operating costs. Its buses are designed to be an economical, convenient, and reliable alternative to diesel, capable of all-day operation on a single charge with proven battery technology. By offering affordable financing options and end-to-end support, BasiGo enables bus owners to adopt electric fleets while reducing fuel costs and emissions.

Inputi

Venture Round in 2024
Inputi is a Kampala-based online marketplace, aggregator, and distributor of farm inputs that serves smallholder farmers. It operates a digital platform that connects farmers to access quality, genuine inputs at affordable prices through a single portal, and it includes insurance coverage to cushion farmers against unexpected events. The company supplies fertilisers, fungicides, and pesticides, consolidating procurement and distribution to streamline input supply for agricultural producers.

Pezesha

Grant in 2024
Pezesha is a digital financial marketplace based in Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 2016. The company focuses on connecting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to various financial resources, including working capital, float financing, and LPO financing. By leveraging credit and data analytics, Pezesha facilitates affordable credit options for underserved micro-businesses, enabling them to access the formal financial system. The platform serves as a bridge between lenders and low-income borrowers, promoting a shared economy and broadening financial access for SMBs. Through its innovative approach, Pezesha aims to be a leading player in Africa's digital financial landscape, enhancing the growth potential of small businesses across the region.

Copia Global

Series C in 2023
Copia Global Inc. is an e-commerce company based in Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 2013. It provides an innovative application that allows users to browse and order products from local shopkeepers, facilitating access to a wide range of quality goods for consumers in the developing world. The platform is designed to empower middle to low-income Africans by enabling them to make purchases without needing direct internet access. Copia Global leverages mobile technologies and a network of local agents to serve as distribution points, ensuring efficient delivery of products at consumers' convenience. The application also incorporates a mobile payment system, allowing shopkeepers to fulfill customer orders seamlessly.

Blencowe Resources

Grant in 2023
Blencowe Resources plc, incorporated in 2017 and based in Rugby, United Kingdom, is focused on the exploration and development of the Orom Graphite Project located in the Republic of Uganda. The company holds mining licenses for an extensive area of approximately 520,000 hectares, with a commitment to advancing the project's potential. Originally known as Cora Gold Limited, Blencowe Resources aims to strategically acquire additional companies or business ventures to enhance its operations and growth trajectory within the mining sector.

Blencowe Resources

Grant in 2023
Blencowe Resources plc, incorporated in 2017 and based in Rugby, United Kingdom, is focused on the exploration and development of the Orom Graphite Project located in the Republic of Uganda. The company holds mining licenses for an extensive area of approximately 520,000 hectares, with a commitment to advancing the project's potential. Originally known as Cora Gold Limited, Blencowe Resources aims to strategically acquire additional companies or business ventures to enhance its operations and growth trajectory within the mining sector.

Kentegra Biotechnology Holdings

Venture Round in 2023
Kentegra Biotechnology Holdings is a leading U.S-Kenyan company that supports a Kenyan-based biopesticide processing business that aggregates, extracts, and refines pale refine extract (PRE) from the pyrethrum flower, and sells the PRE to formulators across the world. Kentegra is committed to improving farmer’s livelihoods by investing in the communities where we are working to help farmers and their families have a more stable income and better quality of life. Grants: Norad 2021, AgriFi 2020, USAID 2020, USAID 2019, DEG 2020, DEG 2019

Kasha

Series B in 2023
Kasha is an East Africa based e-commerce platform that provides women's health, personal care and beauty products through a digital retail and last-mile distribution model. The company offers a wide range of products including contraceptives, menstrual care items such as sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups and panty liners, as well as body, hair, facial and oral care, beauty products, maternal and newborn health items, family planning supplies, and treatments for non-communicable diseases and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The platform enables confidential orders and delivers health and personal care products to urban and rural customers, addressing last-mile challenges in Rwanda and Kenya. It operates from bases in Kigali, Rwanda, with an additional office in Nairobi, Kenya, serving women across East Africa with convenient private access to essential health products online and through offline distribution channels.

Africa Data Centres

Debt Financing in 2022
Africa Data Centres is a leading network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centre facilities across the African continent. The company provides essential infrastructure for digital transformation, offering rapid and secure data centre services and interconnections for businesses. With strategically located facilities in major regional trade hubs, Africa Data Centres enables both African and international companies to host their critical applications and data securely. Notably, the East Africa Data Centre, situated at Sameer Industrial Park in Nairobi, is optimally positioned to connect to a wide range of carrier networks and long-distance fibre routes, ensuring reliable access to multiple markets, including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Somalia. This strategic location makes it an ideal choice for businesses seeking robust data hosting solutions in East Africa.

Copia Global

Series C in 2022
Copia Global Inc. is an e-commerce company based in Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 2013. It provides an innovative application that allows users to browse and order products from local shopkeepers, facilitating access to a wide range of quality goods for consumers in the developing world. The platform is designed to empower middle to low-income Africans by enabling them to make purchases without needing direct internet access. Copia Global leverages mobile technologies and a network of local agents to serve as distribution points, ensuring efficient delivery of products at consumers' convenience. The application also incorporates a mobile payment system, allowing shopkeepers to fulfill customer orders seamlessly.

Apollo Agriculture

Debt Financing in 2021
Apollo Agriculture is an agtech company that provides smallholder farmers with access to high-quality inputs, credit, and advisory services. Using agronomic machine learning, remote sensing, and mobile technology, it assesses farmer credit risk and tailors each package to a farm’s location by integrating satellite data, soil information, farmer behavior, and crop yield models. The company delivers a bundled offer that includes financing for inputs such as fertilizer and seed, crop insurance, and ongoing consulting to improve farming decisions. Originating in Kenya with operations anchored in Nairobi, Apollo aims to expand to emerging markets and help farmers boost yields and profitability through customized credit, inputs, and advice. The approach combines modern data analytics with practical agronomy to enable farmers to adopt advanced farming methods.

Ampersand

Debt Financing in 2021
Ampersand is a company based in Kigali, Rwanda, that specializes in the manufacture of affordable electric vehicles and charging systems tailored for the three million motorcycle taxi drivers in East Africa. The company aims to enhance mass-market electric mobility by providing a battery swap network and an operating system that facilitates sustainable transport solutions. By making electric mobility accessible and affordable, Ampersand not only improves the livelihoods of drivers but also contributes to environmental sustainability. As of January 2024, the company's customer base has expanded to 2,000 users, who collectively cover 1.5 million kilometers weekly in Nairobi and Kigali.

Africa Healthcare Network

Debt Financing in 2021
Africa Healthcare Network is a provider of dialysis services across Sub‑Saharan Africa, operating the region’s first dialysis chain in Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. The company supplies high‑quality, life‑saving dialysis for acute kidney injury and end‑stage renal disease at affordable prices. It addresses the scarcity of dialysis centers by training local professionals, sourcing low‑cost consumables, and implementing efficient operations. By expanding access to reliable treatment, the network reduces travel burdens and costs for patients, improving outcomes while maintaining financial sustainability.

Africell

Debt Financing in 2021
Founded in Africa in 2001, Africell is a rapidly growing mobile telecommunications operator committed to empowering local communities through connectivity. It is the leading provider in Gambia and Sierra Leone, with expanding operations in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. As of 2016, it served over 11 million active subscribers across these four countries, offering voice and 3G data services.

Kasha

Venture Round in 2021
Kasha is an East Africa based e-commerce platform that provides women's health, personal care and beauty products through a digital retail and last-mile distribution model. The company offers a wide range of products including contraceptives, menstrual care items such as sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups and panty liners, as well as body, hair, facial and oral care, beauty products, maternal and newborn health items, family planning supplies, and treatments for non-communicable diseases and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The platform enables confidential orders and delivers health and personal care products to urban and rural customers, addressing last-mile challenges in Rwanda and Kenya. It operates from bases in Kigali, Rwanda, with an additional office in Nairobi, Kenya, serving women across East Africa with convenient private access to essential health products online and through offline distribution channels.

Copia Global

Venture Round in 2020
Copia Global Inc. is an e-commerce company based in Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 2013. It provides an innovative application that allows users to browse and order products from local shopkeepers, facilitating access to a wide range of quality goods for consumers in the developing world. The platform is designed to empower middle to low-income Africans by enabling them to make purchases without needing direct internet access. Copia Global leverages mobile technologies and a network of local agents to serve as distribution points, ensuring efficient delivery of products at consumers' convenience. The application also incorporates a mobile payment system, allowing shopkeepers to fulfill customer orders seamlessly.

Kasha

Venture Round in 2020
Kasha is an East Africa based e-commerce platform that provides women's health, personal care and beauty products through a digital retail and last-mile distribution model. The company offers a wide range of products including contraceptives, menstrual care items such as sanitary pads, tampons, menstrual cups and panty liners, as well as body, hair, facial and oral care, beauty products, maternal and newborn health items, family planning supplies, and treatments for non-communicable diseases and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The platform enables confidential orders and delivers health and personal care products to urban and rural customers, addressing last-mile challenges in Rwanda and Kenya. It operates from bases in Kigali, Rwanda, with an additional office in Nairobi, Kenya, serving women across East Africa with convenient private access to essential health products online and through offline distribution channels.

Bayport Management

Post in 2020
Bayport Management offers retail financial services across Africa, Latin America, and Mauritius. It provides personal loan products, savings accounts, mobile banking, insurance plans, and other related services.
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